Shutting Up the Office of the Anarchists’ Organ—An Inquest
Held Over
Officer Degan, and the Agitators Held as Accessories to His
Murder—Important Discoveries
at Spies’ Office—Dynamite and Arms Seized—The Tolls tightening About
the
Murderous Conspirators.

The Mayor,
Chief Ebersold, State-Attorney Grinnell, Inspector Bonfield, and the
leading
commissioned officer s hold a short consultation after Mr. Harrison
came from
the West Side, and at its conclusion
six
detectives were told off in two divisions, and assigned to duty.Bonfield, Wiley, and Duffy were sent to the
office of the Arbeiter-Zeitung, on
the upper floor of no. 107 Fifth Avenue.Entering there, Bonfield singled out an extremely pale gentleman
who sat
in the centre of the room and asked him:

“Are you
August Spies?”

The
affirmative answer came with a sickly attempt at a smile.

“Well, we
want you and both these men,” was the next remark of the officer, as he
pointed
to Christian Spies, a brother of the editor, who was in the office, and
Michael
Schwab, the associate editor, who sat at the next desk.

The men
were undoubtedly frightened, and had little to say, putting on their
coats and
preparing to leave the office without remark.

It fell to
Officer Duffy to take charge of Chris Spies, and when he was asked what
his
name was before starting said:

“I don’t
know as it’s any of your business, was the tart rejoinder.

“You put on
that coat and come with me to the station, and do it –quick,” was the
retort,
accompanied by a motion that meant business.That settled it, and the three prisoners walked over to the
City-Hall
without a word, but all three keeping an anxious and frightened eye
upon the
little knots of people who paused to curiously examine the hurrying
procession
of six men.The pace was a lively one,
and, once at Central, the three were buried into cells in the basement.
The
officers at once returned to the newspaper office and made search of
the place.They found about 100 copies of
the call for
the hay-market meeting, and upon a galley, still undistributed, was the
form of
the villainous revenge proclamation which was scattered all over the
city by a
mysterious horseman Monday night after the rioting and shooting near
the
McCormick reaperworks.The police took
these, and, aided by an outside printer, also found and confiscated
sample
letters from the cases containing the same fonts of type as those used
in the
“revenge” proclamation.

The editor
was in a cell at the station, but there was no cessation of work on the
part of
the printers, who appeared to have the copy for the 12 o’clock edition all in
hand.They and persons in the
counting-room
declared that the paper was to come out as usual, and the fact was
reported by
the police to the mayor.

Mr.
Harrison at once held a secret consultation with the police authorities
as well
asMr. Winston, the ex-Corporation
Counsel, and then started for the office himself.As
he stepped into the office he was
recognized by a man giving the name Oscar Niebe.Mr.
Harrison sharply asked him if he was in
charge, and he before a somewhat broken and disconnected answer could
be made
the Mayor demanded to know if a paper was to be printed.Niebe then explained that Spies was arrested
and that he had just stepped in to see what effect the excitement had
upon the Arbeiter-Zeitung staff.

“I want to
know whether the paper intends to publish any incendiary articles such
as
appeared yesterday?” commanded the representative of the municipality.

“No,
no.We’re going on all smooth and quiet;
all smooth and quiet,” replied Niebe.

“Well, I
must be convinced of that.And before a
paper is sent out a copy must be placed in the hands of Mr. Hand.”

“O,
yes.Hand is a friend of the
workingmen.We’ll do anything he
says.There will be nothing exciting in
the paper.We wouldn’t put in anything
of that kind.”

“I will
make sure that you don’t,” broke in the Mayor, “and Mr. Hand will be
here
directly.”

A word or
two more of no importance passed and Mr. Harrison took his departure,
leaving
the impression that the paper was to be allowed to go to press.

As he left
the place several persons made a motion as if to follow, but a dozen
detectives
under Lieut. Shea had taken possession of all the doors and stairways,
and non
one was permitted to go in or out. Then Mr. Niebe waited for Mr. Hand
with what
patience he could command, but he waited in vain.A
consultation of some sort was held when the
Mayor again reached headquarters, for a peremptory order to Shea to
bring in
everybody connected with the office soon came over by special
messenger, and
the printers up-stairs were told to stop work and put on their coats.The detectives searched each one of them, and
in the clothing of one they found a huge murderous Remington revolver
and an
ugly knife made by grinding to razor edge the three corners of a
six-inch
file.Then the whole force, ‘prentice
hands and all, were marshaled two by two and started for the station.This time the people on the street seemed to
know by instinct that these prisoners were men from the Socialistic
newspapers,
and, as the procession moved along, threats could be heard on all sides.The number of officers prevented any violent
demonstration, but “They ought to be hung,” “Hanging is too good for
them,” and
such remarks sounded on all sides.The
prisoners were badly frightened and might have broken from the officers
to
avoid the knots of spectators had they not heard one loud-mouthed
person call
out:“What’s the use of coppers dragging
such as that to a station?Why don’t you
shoot ‘em down and let their own kind cart the bodies off?”This party just dodged a back-handed blow from
a detective, and the printers were safely landed in the big room at
Central
Station.

When the
Mayor had left the counting-room the officers found collected in the
editorial
room Gerhardt Lizeus, the city editor of the Arbeiter-Zeitung;
Mrs. Parson, the colored wife of the blatant
agitator, who publishes his English paper, The
Alarm, in the same office;Mrs.
Holmes, a writer for the same, and Mrs. Michael Schwab, wife of the
editor
under arrest.The last-named was allowed
to depart with her brother-in-law, as was also Mrs. Parsons, who
apparently
succeeded in convincing the police that she was not a writer for either
her
husband’s or Spies’ sheet.The brother
of the former was present to protect her, and hew as told to take her
home.These two women will be remembered
as the couple who carried the red and black flags in front of the
procession
which howled about the street the night the new Board of Trade Building
was
opened.The other two were quietly
escorted along the same path their superiors had followed to the City
Hall.

Mrs.
Parsons was let go by the police because they believed she would go
home and by
following her could locate her husband. They visited the home of the
couple at
the corner of Indiana
and May streets several times during the day, finding it always locked.
They
made no attempt to enter, although a close watch was kept for any signs
of life
about the premises.At about 5 o’clock in the afternoon
Detectives
Palmer and William Boyd arrested Mrs. Parsons again at the house of a
painter
named Glasgow,
No. 313 West Lake Street.

“I have
been expecting you,” she said calmly when Officer Palmer accosted her.

“You still
wear the red ribbon, do you?” asked Palmer.

“Yes; and
I’ll wear it until I die,” she replied with energy.

She was
taken to the Central Police Station and was closeted for a few minutes
with Lieuts.
Shea and Kipley.She declared that she
was “ready to die,” and “might as well die at once for the glorious
cause,” but
she could not be induced to say a word in regard to her fellow
Anarchists or
her husband’s whereabouts.The police
are convinced that Parsons has left the city.Mrs. Parsons was released.

Mrs.
Parsons and Mrs. Ames were rearrested at No. 14 Peoria Street, for the
third time,
last evening, and taken to the Central Station.They were closeted again for some time with Lieuts. Shea and
Kipley, and
then released.The latter officer
remarked that it was entirely useless trying to “pump” these women.

In the
counting-room Mr. Niebe was still protesting that he had nothing to do
with the
paper, notwithstanding his talk with the Mayor, but he was told to walk
over to
the City Hall and make explanations there.

“Now, dust
through this place and see what you can find,” was the order to several
officers who had returned from headquarters.The first dash was made at a stuffy little cupboard, and as an
officer
brought out a bundle of coffee-sacking and carefully placed it on a
chair,
saying, “Look out! I’ll be that’s dynamite,” a shudder went through the
whole
party.It was about four or five pounds
of that fatal explosive, loosely done up in brown paper and wrapped in
the
coffee-sacking.Officer Marks, who stood
nearest the bundle, was told to carry it to Central, and it was stowed
away in
one of the empty vaults there with much fear and trembling.A quantity of correspondence, which clearly
proved that Spies was the responsible head of the Arbeiter-Zeitung
and that Parsons stood in the same relation to The Alarm,
was next seized, and the
officers caught up four red and two black flags and a couple of printed
banners, and all started away, leaving the office in charge of the
clerk in the
counting-room.These banners were
translated and the mottoes they bore were, “Our Capitalistic Robbers
May Well
Thank Their Lord We, Their Victims, Have Not Yet Strangled Them,” and
“Down
with Extortion—Long Live Free Labor—Long Live the Social Revolution.”

It was
supposed that Parsons would be found in the office with Spies and
Schwab but he
was not, and as soon as the first rush was over there detectives were
dispatched to hunt him up.When the
first detail was made Officers Costello, Ryan, and Slayton were ordered
to go
out and hunt up Sam Fielden, the rabid speaker of the night before.These men had heard that he was slightly
injured, and they started at once for his home, No. 110 West Polk Street.His wife admitted the policemen without
delay, and they found the Socialist in bed.In response to their notice that he was under arrest and that he
must
come to headquarters, Fielden leaded that he had been injured the night
before.There was no ceremony about the
next move of the officers, for they stripped down the bed-clothes and
began to
hunt for his wound.It proved to be a
ragged scratch extending over his kneecap, evidently inflicted by a
passing
missile, while the remainder of the fearless agitator’s body was prone
upon the
ground. He was suddenly and forcibly told to get out of that bed and
put on his
clothes.Seeing that it was useless to
linger he did so without any apparent pain or effort.He refused to talk about his experience of
the night before, and was warned that on the trip down-town he must
make no
fuss and keep his mouth shut.As he is
not personally known to any great number of people the trip to La Salle and Washington Streets was made without
incident.

The search
for Parsons had been going on all the forenoon, but it had met with no
success.No one could be found who was
ready to confess that he had seen the “editor” and “speaker.”A visit or two was aid to the elegant flat
one occupies with his colored wife at No. 248 West Indiana, and in one
of their
trips Officers Bonfield and Wiley received some information that led
them to
return to the Arbeiter-Zeitung office
and make a careful search of a sink in Spies’ private office.Hidden in the woodwork below the officers
found a long, heavy Winchester
revolver, a quantity of fixed ammunition, a large number of small-sized
dynamite cartridges, and another file knife, all of which were taken to
the
station.

A mining
expert was found about noon
in the person of Mr. F.L. Buck, who agreed to make a test of the
dynamite found
in the possession of the Anarchists.Accompanied by two or three officers he took some of the stuff
and went
down to the Lake-Front, near the foot of Randolph Street.A portion about the size of an egg was placed
upon a piece of plank probably four inches thick, and two pressed
bricks were
laid on topIt was exploded with the aid
of the percussion-cap used by miners, and the detonation could have
been heard
for a mile north and south along the open lake-front.The plank was rent and torn to splinters,
while the two bricks were reduced to a powder.Another charge of about the same size was placed in side a steel
coupling link resting on a piece of a railroad tie and covered with
another
brick.The explosion tore the link in
pieces, bending and wrenching the fragments into all sorts of fantastic
shapes.
The remnants of the two discharged were gathered up by the officers to
be
preserved.Returning to headquarters Mr.
Buck brought forth some acknowledged dynamite, and burned it and some
of Spies’
forcible argument together in the open air.When the stuff is not confined it burns like grease, with no
explosion,
but leaving a peculiar ash and producing a most disgusting smell.Both specimens, when burned upon a stone
between
the City and CountyBuildings, gave
exactly
the same results, and Mr. Buck expressed the opinion that there could
be no
doubt of the nature and dangerous character of the stuff found in the
printing
office.

Niebe was
let go later.

WHAT THE INQUEST REVEALED

Positive Testimony of Many Witnesses Implicating the
Anarchist Leaders.

The inquest
upon the body of Mathias J. Degan, the West Lake Street Station police
officer
who died shortly after being hurt by the bomb which exploded at the
corner of
Desplaines and Randolph streets, was begun by Coroner Hartz yesterday
afternoon
at 2:50 o’clock in the office of the City Clerk, the Coroner not having
the
necessary room in his own office.The
jury selected assembled at the CountyHospital
at 2 o’clock, and,
proceeding to the
morgue, viewed Degan’s body as it lay upon the marble slab.A ghastly hole in the abdomen of the corpse
plainly indicated the cause of death.The
features of the dead man were calm and placid, and showed no signs of
violent
death.The deceased was rather a
handsome man and of perfect physical development. As the jury was about
leaving
the morgue John Degan, a brother, threw himself upon the body and cried
pitifully, and it was with difficulty that he was induced to come away.

The jury
then took carriages to the City Hall, and the witnesses were summoned
to the
office of the City Clerk.A sensation
was created in the room by the arrival of several officers, having in
charge
August Spies, Sam Fielden and Michael Schwab, the first editor of the
Arbeiter-Zeitung, the second professional Communist with no other
occupation,
and the third associate or telegraph editor of the Arbeiter-Zeitung.These three had been arrested in the morning.Of the three Schwab appeared the
coolest;Spies was nervous and worried,
his countenance betraying great anxiety, while Fielden’s face was very
red, and
he shifted uneasily in his seat in his efforts to seem careless and
indifferent.His head, face, whiskers,
and hands looked as though they had seen neither water nor brush for
many a
day, and he was ill at ease.The trio
had doubtless heard of the threats of lynching that had been made, and
cast
furtive glances on all sides, as if watching for somebody who might
attack
them.Though in their harangues these
fellows have always denounced the police as assassins and cut-throats,
they
seemed at this time to be particularly glad of the protection afforded
by the
officers, though they squirmed under the angry looks cast upon them by
the
spectators.They paid close attention to
the testimony given, and allowed nothing to escape that was going on
around
them.

The first
witness was John Degan, brother to the deceased, living at No. 214 South Union Street.He said his brother was 34 years of age, a
shoemaker by trade, born in Germany,
a widower, and leaving one child. He said he had no idea whatever as to
how the
deceased came to his death.

Police Officers and Reporters on the Stand.

Louis Haas
of No. 19 Lane place, a police officer of the detective force, said he
and
others were ordered to report to Inspector Bonfield at 6 p.m., Tuesday evening, at
Desplaines Street
Station.They did so, and Bonfield
ordered them to scatter themselves through the crowd which had begun to
collect
at Desplaines and Randolph streets, a meeting having been announced for
the
market-place.He had also seen a notice
of the meeting Tuesday afternoon in the Arbeiter-Zeitung (the Anarchist
organ,
edited by August Spies.The Coroner then
translated the announcement for the benefit of the jury.The notice of the meeting was published in
yesterday morning’s TRIBUNE).About 8:30 or 8:45 a crowd was noticed on
Desplaines, north of Randolph
Street,
and here, on a wagon, were several men who were the speakers of the
evening.August Spies was the first
speaker, the next A.R. Parsons, and the third Sam Fielden.He was walking through the crowd most of the
time and did not pay much attention to the speeches made.At about 9:30
or 10 o’clock
Fielden was speaking, Spies and Parsons having spoken.Five or six companies of police came from the
Desplaines Street Station, headed by Inspector Bonfield and Capt. Ward,
went
north on Desplaines and across Randolph,
and the first platoon got within fifteen feet of the wagon where the
speaking
was going on.When Capt. Ward and
Inspector Bonfield were within four feet of the wagon Ward said, “I
order you
in the name of the state to disperse!” At this moment there was a bomb
or shell
thrown from the east side of Desplaines Street, about fifteen
feet form the alley, where
there was a lot of boxes.The bomb came
from back of the boxes, and landed about the centre of the street,
between the
first and second police platoons, about the centre of the line.The shell or bomb had a lighted fuse, and
that attracted my attention from its sizzling, and exploded as soon as
it
struck the ground.I was immediately in
the rear of the shell, eight or ten feet, with Lieut. Hubbard.At the time of the explosion of the shell
there was quite a loud report and the street was filled with smoke.I think I heard shots to the east of me, and
then I heard the command of some officer to the police to charge.

I didn’t
see Degan the, but saw him afterwards.Just after the word to charge I heard a terrific firing from the
officers, and then I went south on Desplaines Street, and at the
southwest corner of Desplaines
and Randolph I found the body of an officer.Officer McDonald tried to lift him up.I afterwards learned that this was Officer Degan.I then returned to the centre of the street
to look for Officer, Elliott, my partner, and there found quite a
number of
officers and citizens wounded.I
assisted in carrying some of the wounded officers to the station.

Questioned
by the Coroner, the witness said:When
the bomb exploded the ranks of the police seemed to spread, and then I
saw
great numbers of police lying on the ground piled across each other.Foreman Badenoch—What remarks did you hear
previous to the throwing of the bomb?

Witness—I
heard several people in the crowd say, “Hang them!” “Burn their
factories!” and
similar ejaculations were very common.I
do not know to whom these persons referred, as I was circulating around
in the
crowd all the time.

Haas had
heard Spies and Fielden make Socialistic remarks on former occasions
and say
things calculated to rouse the hearers to bloodshed.He heard Fielden make threats against the Government.

Paul C.
Huli of No. 586 West Van
Buren Street,
a reporter, was on the scene.At 7:30
the crowd began to congregate at the corner along Market Square, and
towards
8:30 gathered around the wagon in front of Crane Bros.’ foundry on
Desplaines
Street.August Spies got on the wagon
with several other people.A.R.
Parsons
followed Spies and dealt in statistics.The utterances of the speakers were unusually guarded compared
to their
speeches on other occasions.Fielden was
shouting “In conclusion—when Capt. Bonfield commanded the crowd to
disperse.At the same moment a luminous
object rose from the east sidewalk and fell in the middle of the street
in
front of the police.An explosion
followed.The centre of the platform
seemed to be giving way.Then a few
shots were heard and the police began shooting.There was a general fusillade for some time.He could not state for certain whether shots
were fired by the crowd after the bomb exploded and before the police
fired.

Foreman—What
language did the speakers address the meeting in?

“In
English.”

“Have you
ever heard these men make similar remarks on former occasions?”

“Yes,
sir.The tenor of their remarks was
always opposition to law and order and resort to violence.”

E.W. May of
No. 351 Division Street heard Spies say at the meeting, in speaking of
the
trouble at McCormick’s: “McCormick has said he was not responsible for
the
death of the men who were shot.If he
said so he lied. He alone was responsible for their death.”His description of the arrival of the police
and the throwing of the bomb was similar to that of the preceding
witness.

Edgar B.
Owen, a newspaper reporter, living at No. 542 Huribut Street, said he
saw A.R. Parsons about
7:45 at the
meeting and
Parsons told him he had nothing to do with the meeting, and, jumping on
a car,
rode away.He also saw Schwab
there.He heard the speeches made by
Spies, Parsons, and Fielden, and corroborated the testimony given
before as to
the character of the utterances.The
majority of the audience did not seem to be in sympathy with the
speakers.He heard Parsons cry “To arms!”
“To arms! “To
arms! And this excited more enthusiasm than any of the previous talk.Fielden’s speech was fiery, and there was
some applause.Then he went to the
Desplaines Street Station and saw the police forming, and was told by
several
detectives to keep away, as there was going to be trouble.Then he went to the place of the speaking and
heard Capt. Ward’s order to the crowd to disperse.He heard the explosion of the bomb and was
struck afterwards by a spent ball.Immediately after the explosion of the bomb there was rapid
firing on
the part of the police and the crowd.He
had heard Parsons, Spies, Schwab, and Fielden make frequent incendiary
speeches
on the Lake-Front, at No.
54 Lake Street, and other places.

Capt.
William Ward of No. 21
Arlington Street, in command at Desplaines
Street Station,
said that at 9:30 o’clock
Inspector Bonfield ordered the police out to go to the meeting.He was at the head of the police column as it
came to the stand and ordered Fielden to cease talking and commanded
the crowd
to disperse.At that moment the bomb
exploded and an indiscriminate firing began.He has been a police officer for sixteen years.When he told the crowd, in the name of the
State, he was executing the orders of his superior officer.After the fight was over he found one of his
men dead and thirty-nine wounded. The dead man was Degan.He was so close to the wagon when the bomb
exploded that he could have put his hand on it and spoke so loud that
all must
have heard what he said, and he knew Fielden heard his order.

The
foreman—Have you ever been ordered by your superior officer to arrest
these men
(pointing to the prisoners) for their incendiary utterances?

Capt.
Ward—No, sir; but I think other officers have.

The
inflammatory circulars were shown Capt. Ward (the ones distributed at
the
meeting) and he recognized them as ones he had seen.

Officer
John A. McDonald, a detective on the police force, was on the ground at
the
time of the explosion of the bomb, at the southwest corner of Randolph
and
Desplaines streets.He saw the bomb
falling to the ground before it exploded.Half a minute after the explosion there were several shots fired
from
the opposite side of the street, and Officer Degan fell upon him, his
weight
bearing him to the ground.The shots
came from the southeast corner of Randolph and Desplaines streets and
were not
fired by officers.Degan had come to him
just before he was shot, and had suggested going over to the opposite
corner to
see who were standing there.The witness
said he and other officers picked Degan up from the ground and carried
him into
the station.He did not speak after
being shot.

Capt. Ward,
being recalled, said Degan was under Lieut. Stanton of the West Lake
Street
Station.This company was instructed to
keep the crowd from surging into Randolph Street from Desplaines.He (Capt. Ward) was ten feet or more in front
of the police line when the bomb was thrown. He
did not give any order for his men to
fire.There was a great deal of
confusion among the officers after the bomb exploded.

The Search of the “Arbeiter-Zeitung”
Office and Finding of the Dynamite.

Officer
Timothy McKeough, a detective, was around in the crowd with other
officers, and
heard Spies ask the crowd to be quiet so they could hear the speakers.Spies began to talk, and told the audience
how he had spoken at the meeting of Monday which led to the riot at
McCormick’s
factory, but denied that he had been the means of inciting the mob.He said that the mob there had merely thrown
stones and bricks, a harmless amusement, and that there was no use for
calling
the police.He quoted freely from
Parsons’ speech, which ended with the cry “To arms!”He said he heard Fielden say, “Kill the law;
throttle it, stab it, shoot it!”Shortly
after that the police came marching from the Desplaines Street Station,
and in
a short time the bomb exploded.He said
that in the raid on the Arbeiter-Zeitung
office Wednesday morning (Yesterday) the detectives under command of
Lieut.
Shea captured a quantity of material which they considered to be what
was made
into bombs.Several detectives went down
on the lake shore at the end of the Randolph Street viaduct and
ignited the stuff, which showed
wonderful explosive power.It shattered
bricks and boards, and broke a large piece of iron in two when it
exploded.They used a very small quantity
of the material when they made the experiments.The stuff was found by Officer Marks in the Arbeiter-Zeitung
building,
and an expert said there was enough there to blow up the City-Hall.

The
Coroner—Where is this stuff now?

McKeough—In
the vault of this building.[Sensation
in the audience.]

Officer
Michael H. Marks, also a detective, testified to the finding of the
explosive
material in the Arbeiter-Zeitung building, No. 107 Fifth Avenue.He had been detailed by Lieut. Shea to make a
thorough search, and did so.On the
second floor are Spies’ office and composing-room, and in a small room
just
north of the office he found a bag filled with sand and sawdust mixed
with
nitro-glycerin—the same material as the bomb was filled with which
exploded
Tuesday night.He took it to the Central
Station and Lieut. Shea suggested that it be tested.Several officers with a man named Buck, an
expert at handling dynamite, went to the lake shore and made three
experiments.The first was with some
bricks, and they were pulverized; next a board and some stones were
used, and
the latter were blown into the lake, the board being entirely smashed;
at the
third experiment a pile of bricks and an iron coupling-pin were used,
the
dynamite being put under it. The fuse was lighted, and when the
explosion
occurred the bricks were pulverized and the iron pin broken in two by
its
force.The stuff was pronounced
dynamite, and the amount used for each experiment did not exceed the
size of a
hen’s egg.

Marks said
the dynamite was wrapped in a heavy brown paper bearing the label of
the Adams
Express Company, New York,
but the direction had been taken off.The room in which the dynamite was found opens into Spies’
office; in
fact, the room was nothing more nor less than a closet; it was really a
part of
the room.

Dr.
Theodore J. Biuthardt, who held a post-mortem examination on the body
of the
dead officer (Degan), gave a detailed description of the wounds found
upon the
corpse, and it was evident from this that Degan’s death was not the
result of
being struck by a bullet, but that he received a portion of the deadly
bomb.A great wound was discovered in
the loft thigh, and the doctor said that it was very evident that the
missile
had entered the thigh and burst after entrance, the muscles being
terribly torn
and the femoral artery severed.It was
evident that this missile was either an explosive bullet or a portion
of the
bomb which had entered the flesh and exploded there.As to this the doctor could not say, as he
was not an expert on explosives, but the wounds were not made by an
ordinary
bullet.He exhibited to the jury pieces
of lead taken from Degan’s thigh and leg and they were very rough and
ragged
around the edges, and none of them very large.The explosion inside of Degan’s thigh must have been of great
force, for
the flesh was badly torn.

It was
noticeable that while the testimony of the witnesses who found the
dynamite was
being given, and while Dr. Biuthardt was giving his description of the
wounds
on Degan’s body, Spies was very nervous, and the expression upon his
face was
more anxious than ever.The evidence
against him was most direct, and it was apparent that he had not
expected that
such a good case would be made against him. Apart from the type found
in his
office, set up, form which were printed the circulars headed “Revenge,”
and
which were the most inflammatory of those distributed among the crowd
Tuesday
night, was the fact of the finding of the dynamite in his office, by
which the
inference was very strong that it was from this explosive that the bomb
was
made which did the ghastly work.Spies’
face grew redder and redder and the wrinkles upon his face deepened as
the
testimony was proceeded with.

Officer
Reinhold Meyers of No. 545 North Clark Street went to the building of
the Arbeiter-Zeitung yesterday and found
some type set together, the heading of which was: “Revenge! Workingmen
to
Arms!” It was the type form which the English part of the gory circular
of last
Monday night was printed.

F.L. Buck,
of no. 16 Clark Street, salesman for
Greer
& Jaques, dealers in nitroglycerine, giantpowder, and similar
explosives,
has handled these goods for five years.He said he was familiar with the look of explosives before and
after
explosion.He described the wounds
caused by explosives, and after examining a piece of lead taken from
the principal
wound of the dead officer declared there was some nitroglycerine on it.The giantpowder found in the building of the Arbeiter Zeitung was ready for use if a
cap or a fuse was applied.

Detective
Edward Cosgrove saw Michael Schwab in consultation with Spies on the
wagon.

Henry E.O.
Heinemann, a TRIBUNE reporter, of No. 6724 Lafayette Avenue, was
present during Tuesday
night’s meeting.He met Schwab at
Desplaines and Randolph Streets, but did not talk with him.He heard the speeches made, and they seemed
to have an inflammatory effect upon some of the audience.He had heard the prisoners speak frequently
before, and the talk was in the Anarchistic vein.M.M.
Thompson of No. 185 South
Green Street, a
grocer-keeper, said he was standing at the alloy by Crane Bros.’
foundry about 8 o’clock,
when he heard August Spies
and Schwab talking together in the alley. He paid no attention to what
they
were saying, but when he heard the work “pistols” he pricked up his
ears.He heard one of them say (he thought
I was
Spies), “Do you think one will be enough?”(Presumably referring to the bomb.) “If you don’t we’ll go and
get some
more.”They then went toward Randolph Street,
and on that thoroughfare they went a short distance to the east,
Thompson
following them all the time.After
talking together a few minutes the twain turned around and returned to
the
wagon where the speaking took place, and Thompson is of the opinion
that what
they were conversing about was the bomb business.AS
they neared the wagon from where the
speeches were made Spies said, “I don’t think the police will tackle us.They’re afraid, because they know what will
be waiting for them.”In the light of
subsequent events Thompson found that this conversation had made a very
deep
impression upon his memory, though it is very probable that he would
have
forgotten it entirely had it not been for the explosion of the bomb,
which gave
the conversation he had overheard a fearful significance.

During the
testimony Spies wore a sarcastic smile upon his features, and seemed to
think
this part of the investigation was very funny indeed.Schwab, however, did not, and once or twice
vehemently interrupted the witness.

“May I ask
you a question, sir?”he at last broke
out.

The witness
turned inquiringly to the Coroner, and that official said, “Certainly.”

“Was I,”
asked Schwab, addressing the witness, “speaking in German or in
English?”

“In
English,” promptly replied Thompson.“I
don’t understand German.”

Schwab
settled back in his chair, and he evidently thought it his turn to
smile, for a
sickly grin overspread his features.The
grin was intended to convey to the jury the impression that, had he
been
talking to Spies at all, it would have been in German and not in
English, his
command over the latter language not being very complete. Schwab,
however, can
make himself understood in English very well, and can carry on a
conversation
in the Anglo-Saxon very well indeed.

Officer
William Jones of the detective force was one of the party who made the
search
at the Arbeiter-Zeitung building in
the morning. He arrested Spies, Schwab, and Spies’ brother, and took
them to
the Central Station, where they were locked up.Then he and other officers went back to the office, and in
Spies’
office-desk they found two bombs, with the fuse all ready to light and
everything about them in perfect order.They found dynamite in three different places in the building.In the desk they also found several caps and
fuses.The bomb may have been
giant-powder cartridges.When he and the
other officers went to Spies’ office they were told Spies was not in
and would
not be in until 2 o’clock, but on proceeding up-stairs they found him
and
Schwab and his (Spies’) brother and placed them under arrest.

Frank
Pennell of No. 47 North
Market Street, who sells sewing-machine
attachments, said
he saw Spies’ brother Chris Tuesday night at the corner of Halsted and
Randolph
Streets.Witness was talking to a man at
the corner when young Spies came up.In
talking over the situation young Spies said that if the police tried to
break
up the meeting at Randolph and Desplaines Streets they would get a bomb.Young Spies said the people did not
understand what the Anarchists really wanted and defended the
Socialistic
doctrines.Witness said he was sure that
young Spies was the man who said the police would get a bomb if they
tried to
break up the meeting.

Officer
Reuben Slayton, a detective, was engaged in the search of the Arbeiter-Zeitung building, and on the
way up-stairs ran against one of the printers in the office.He put his hands up to keep the man from
running against him and felt a belt around his body.He (the officer) searched the printer and
found upon him a sharp three-cornered dirk and a five-chambered
revolver, both
of which weapons he took away.He
arrested the printer and took him to the Central Station and locked him
up.

The Accused Asked to Speak on Their Own Behalf.

This closed
the testimony, and then the Coroner said: “Gentlemen, we have finished
with all
our witnesses, and this would finish the case were it not for one thing.These men here (pointing to the two Spieses,
Schwab, and Fielden) were not brought to this room as prisoners—that is
to say,
they were not brought here as persons suspected of having been
concerned
immediately in this horrible crime—but the evidence is such as to show
that
they may have had a good deal to do with it, and therefore I extend to
them the
privilege accorded to all suspected of crime—that of testifying in
their own
behalf before the jury.”

Turning to
the four men he said: “you may testify, should you desire so to do, but
with
the understanding that what you say is voluntary and might be used
against
you.Therefore it is your privilege to
either speak or remain silent.”

Young Spies
jumped to his feet and said he wanted to testify, and Schwab spoke up
and
signified his intention of saying something.Fielden was silent, while August Spies sat and smiled and never
opened
his lips.

Christian
Spies, August’s brother, of No. 13 Park Street, a hardwood
finisher, said he did not
know what was going on, and went to the office of the Arbeiter-Zeitung
yesterday morning to read the papers, when he was
arrested.Tuesday night he was at Zepf’s
Hall, corner of Desplaines and Lake Streets, at a meeting of the
furniture-workers.He heard the
patrol-wagon and was going out on the street, but was told to remain
inside.He could not see the wagon from
which the speeches were made from a window in Zepf’s Hall.His brother August was editor of the Arbeiter-Zeitung.Michael Schwab was a bookbinder by trade, but
was working for the Arbeiter-Zeitung.

Michael
Schwab was sworn after the Coroner had explained to him that he need
not make
any statement.He acknowledged an oath
as binding to tell the truth. He said he lived at no. 51 Florimond
Street.He had left home Tuesday night at 7:40 to find Spies, whom
the
strikers at the Deering Reaper Works wanted to speak.He looked for Spies at the Haymarket and,
falling to find either him or any other English speaker, went to the
strikers
by himself and made a speech for them after 9 o’clock.So
he
could not have been on the wagon on the Haymarket between 9 and 10 o’clock. He went from his
home to
his office and through the tunnel to the Haymarket, arriving there
about 8:20.Mr. Schwab did not recognize a stiletto that had been taken from
Adolf
Fischer, one of the compositors of the Arbeiter-Zeitung,
nor a revolver that was shown him. He denied any knowledge of how the
circulars
that were distributed Monday and Tuesday were printed.He said he was associate editor of the Arbeiter-Zeitung.It was usual for the paper to furnish
speakers to trades-unions and other organizations when asked for.He did not know who called the meeting he
went to Tuesday night.A request for
speakers was sent by telephone.

Samuel
Fielden asked leave to make a statement and was “affirmed” by the
Coroner.He said he had been invited
Tuesday night to
speak at No. 378 West
Twelfth Street.Before
going there he learned of an important
business meeting of the American Group of the International Working
People’s
Association, and decided to go there, but finally ran across the
meeting at
Desplaines and Randolph Streets, and staid there.He
was not armed himself and did not know
that anybody else in the meeting was.He
was just getting off the wagon when the bomb exploded.AS he stepped on the sidewalk he was shot in
the left knee, but managed to walk down-town and took a car to Twelfth
and
Canal Streets, where his wound was dressed.He then went home and staid there till he was arrested.Fielden admitted having used some expression
like this:“Throttle the law or the law
will throttle you.”He also admitted
having discussed with Spies the use of dynamite in the United States
as a means of redress, and stated that the Arbeiter-Zeitung
had, about a year ago, published in pamphlet form an article form
Johann Most’s
Freheit in regard to the use of
dynamite.

The Verdict of the Jury Recommending that the Anarchists Be
Held.

The following
verdict was returned:

We, the
jury, find that Mathias J. Degan came to his death from shock and
hemorrhage
caused by a wound produced by a piece of bomb, thrown by an unknown
person,
aided, and abetted, and encouraged by August Spies, Christ Spies,
Michael
Schwab, A.R. Parsons, Samuel Fielden, and other unknown persons; and
we, the
jury, recommend that said unknown person who threw said bomb be
apprehended and
held to the grand jury without bail; and further recommend that the
said August
Spies, Samuel Fielden, Michael Schwab, and Christ Spies, as accessories
before
the fact, be held to await the further action of the grand jury without
bail;
and, further, that the said A.R. Parsons and the aforementioned unknown
persons, be apprehended and committed as accessories without bail to
the grand
jury; and we, the jury, recommend that the constituted authorities in
the
future strictly enforce the statute prohibiting the holding of unlawful
meetings.

Arranging for the Prosecution of Spies et al.

State’s
Attorney Grinnell and Chief of Police Ebersold closeted themselves
together
twice yesterday to consult as to the best course to pursue in getting
together
the evidence necessary to convict the murderous Anarchists who
perpetrated the
atrocious wholesale murder on Desplaines Street Tuesday night.It was suggested that the State’s Attorney
had in mind the calling together of a special grand jury for the
indicting of
the treacherous rioters, and that all known Anarchists who participated
in the
meeting would be indicted by name on all possible charges, and that the
indictments for the unknown rioters would be made to read “a person
unknown by
name, to be pointed out.” “We will push the prosecution of the men who
instigated the riot and helped carry out the murder as far as the law
allows
us,” said Mr. Grinnell after he came out of the Chief’s office.“We intend and determine to punish these
rioters to the fullest extent of the law and for all there is in it,”
he
continued, “and we hope justice will not be cheated this time.We want to look over all the evidence before
deciding on what charge or charges to make, and I can not say now what
the
charges will be.I think we will bring
the matter before the next regular grand jury.”

It was
rumored yesterday that the State’s Attorney would present a request in
due form
to Judge Rogers or Judge Garnett to impanel a special grand jury to act
on the
cases of the Socialists Spies and Fielden, their associates, and dupes.The regular grand jury, it was thought, would
not be impaneled till Monday week, and would have all it could do to
attend to
the ordinary jail cases.Some good
citizens suggested a special grand jury, because they do not like the
personnel
of the regular one.A few good men like
Murry Nelson, A.J. Grover, and George Adams have been drawn, but the
majority
are small politicians, saloon-keepers, etc.It might not be safe to intrust them with any business of
importance.It is not likely that this
will be done.

Fielden and Spies Talk.

The
Nihilistic agitators, Spies, Fielden, and their fellow-conspirators,
remained
in the cells beneath the detectives’ quarters last night.This morning they will be committed to
jail.At midnight Chief Ebersold permitted reporters to
see the
prisoners.All were willing to talk, and
answered all questions put to them except those more pertinently
connected with
the horrid deed committed the night before.Fielden was lying in his bunk when the reporters entered nursing
his
wounded leg and vainly trying to lose consciousness of the thrilling
scenes he
had just passed through by falling asleep.When the reporters entered he arose, rubbed his bloodshot eyes,
and came
to the bars.Fielden is rather below the
medium height, thick-set, and muscular.His swarthy features, well covered with a thick growth of black
hair and
beard, are repulsive, and his low brow and catlike eyes do not improve
his
appearance.His clothing was well worn
and of the poorest quality, and his blue hickory shirt gave him the
appearance
of a countryman.

“I was 39
years old last February,” he began, “and was born in Todmorden, Lancashire, England.My parents were poor, but I succeeded in
obtaining a fair education.The first
memorable event in my life was when I lost my mother.I was then only 10 years old.At
the age of 18 I attended an old-fashioned
revival meeting, at which I was converted to the cause of Christianity.Then I converted to the cause of
Christianity.Then I joined the MethodistChurch, and subsequently
preached the
Gospel in my immediate neighborhood.In
1869 I decided to leave England
and emigrate to the United
States, and reached here in July,
1869,
going first to Onleyville,
R.I., where I obtained
employment in a
woolen mill.The following July I went
to Ohio
and
worked on a farm a short time, when I came to Chicago.On arriving here I was employed by “Long John” to work on his
farm at Summit, Ill.When
winter came I found employment in stone
quarries, and have followed that class of work most of the time since.

“Soon after
my arrival in America
I began reading the works of Tom Paine, to which I became a convert,
though I
am now what is termed a materialist.My
Socialistic career began five years ago, when I joined an organization
called
the Chicago Liberal League.I at once
became
an active and prominent member of the organization, and it was
principally
owing to my efforts that the National Liberal League was compelled to
adopt the
labor platform.My connection with the
organization brought me into intimate relations with well-known
Socialistic
agitators, and I soon became an enthusiastic disciple of their cause.In 1884 I joined the Working-People’s
Association, with which I have ever since been prominently identified.I believe that I have attained considerable
celebrity as a public speaker, and especially as an advocate of the
laboring
people’s rights.I have assisted in
building up Socialistic organizations in Chicago,
and am proud of the fact that we are now 3,500 strong in membership,
not
including several thousands of known sympathizers.Carter Harrison ought to know the strength of
our organization, as it was the Socialists that elected him Mayor of
Chicago.”

August
Spies is a pale-faced, intellectual-looking German, 36 years of age.He was born in Hessia, and came to this
country in 1873. He has been a Socialist all his life, and started a
newspaper
in support of that cause in 1879.He
says he at first refused to speak at the Haymarket meeting because
handbills
had been issued requesting people to meet with arms.He afterwards consented to speak, as he
wanted to defend the Socialists against the attacks of “capitalist
organs,” who
had held the Socialists responsible for the affair at McCormick’s
factory.His speech, he says, was the most
temperate
that he ever delivered.He strongly
deprecated the throwing of the bomb, which he denounced as an
“ill-timed and
outrageous affair.”It was, he thought,
the impulsive outbreak of the people, and not prearranged.Regarding the quantities of explosives found
in his office he says that he was ignorant of their presence there.He thinks they were probably placed there by
the police in order to make a case against them.He
had two cartridges in his desk, which he
kept to show reporters, but they were perfectly harmless.